Why You Don’t Know VoIP

Millions of people use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) every day. Skype is mentioned in conversation as casually as Twitter. So how come more people don’t understand what VoIP (and Skype) actually is?

Broadly defined, VoIP is a number of transmission technologies that deliver voice communication over the internet or other IP networks. But, don’t expect the average VoIP user to tell you this.

Let’s explore the three main reasons why people don’t understand VoIP.

1. There’s no need to know: This is probably the reason people don’t understand a lot of things. They don’t care because they don’t need to care. As far as they know VoIP is just a fancy way to make cheap phone calls. They don’t realize that VoIP is all around them and that, even without knowing it, they’ve most likely used it because a huge percentage of all phone calls travel along the IP network at some point.

But can you blame them Most people don’t care how their car works if it gets them from point A to point B. Even when the car breaks down, they just want to know who can fix it and for how much, not why it stopped running. The same goes for VoIP.

Most VoIP users know that they need an internet connection, but nothing more. When call quality worsens or outages occur, most don’t investigate why it’s happening. Like the typical driver whose car won’t start, they just want to know who can fix it.

2. Ads tell only part of the story: For the most part advertising does a poor job of explaining VoIP. Most ads are simple promotions for cheap phone rates and free features. For example, you would not know only from watching the countless Vonage ads that have run on TV over the years that VoIP is behind the cheap unlimited calling rates and features.

But, it’s hard to blame Vonage and other VoIP providers for not explaining the technology. There is no evil plot to keep the public uneducated about VoIP. If you are spending precious advertising dollars trying to sell a VoIP service, would you try to explain what exactly VoIP is? The technical details are best left to be explained once you’ve contacted a sales representative on the phone.

3. Change is scary: Let’s be real, people don’t like the unfamiliar, and VoIP is still new. It took decades from the time Alexander Graham Bell made the world’s first phone call in 1876 for there to be a telephone in the majority of homes. It was only about 15 years ago that the first Internet phone software was created. It’s no wonder that VoIP isn’t the norm yet, much less understood.

Will most people ever get what VoIP actually is? Will VoIP knowledge ever proliferate through the masses? Probably not. The best thing to do is continue educating, one person at a time.

Or not. VoIP works either way.

The Sports World Is Abuzz Over ShoreTel Unified Communications Systems

SUNNYVALE, CA -- 05/11/09 -- Whether it's baseball, basketball, hockey or NASCAR, sports organizations are choosing ShoreTel® (NASDAQ: SHOR), a leading provider of Pure IP Unified Communications (UC) solutions. Increasingly, teams and stadiums are deploying ShoreTel UC systems not only for their excellent performance, but also because of the enhanced customer service and cost savings they provide.

ShoreTel's advanced IP-based communications system offers the industry's lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) and is designed for ease of use and optimum accessibility -- crucial elements for stadiums, arenas and other facilities that serve the public.

A SAMPLING OF SPORTS CUSTOMER DEPLOYMENTS

-- San Francisco Giants: The Giants are deploying 450 ShorePhone® IP Telephones throughout AT&T Park and other facilities, including their Scottsdale, Ariz. Stadium, to streamline communications and reduce costs. Along with the ShoreTel Converged Conference solution, the Giants will be using the ShoreWare Contact Center Workgroup application for ticketing, sales and customer service. Also, all park guests will benefit from improved emergency response thanks to ShoreTel's E911 Notification application, which pinpoints the location of calls from a ShoreTel phone anywhere in the ballpark, and automatically informs all designated security staff and emergency responders.

-- Verizon Center/Washington Wizards: The Verizon Center, a $200 million sports and entertainment facility located in the nation's capital, and the Washington Wizards selected ShoreTel's easy-to-configure, easy-to-use system with more than 650 ShorePhone IP Telephones and an additional 700 plus analog extensions serving its luxury suites and facility operations. ShoreTel was selected over the competition based on the system's features, price and reliability. The multi-purpose arena hosts an average of 220 events per year, and is home to the NBA's Washington Wizards, the NHL's Washington Capitals, the WNBA's Washington Mystics and the NCAA's Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team.

-- Sacramento River Cats: The River Cats, a Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland A's, deployed 170 ShoreTel ShorePhones, on a robust ShoreTel architecture based on ShoreGear® Voice Switches, ShoreWare® Director, ShoreWare Personal Call Manager, and ShoreWare Operator Call Manager. The system provides advanced communications for their front offices and the 14,400-seat Raley Field ballpark in West Sacramento. In addition to improved operational efficiencies, club employees now are able to better communicate and collaborate with fans and suppliers. The River Cats have won four Pacific Coast League Championships between 2003 and 2008.

-- HSBC Arena/Buffalo Sabres: The National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres deployed a ShoreTel UC system -- 19 ShoreTel switches and 680 phones -- throughout the HSBC Arena due to ShoreTel's attractive return on investment, built-in redundancy, and effective call handling. The system provides enterprise resource matching of calls based on customer and agent profiles, advanced real-time management and historical measurement tools. The HSBC Arena is also the home of the Buffalo Bandits Lacrosse team and hosts regular events throughout the year.

-- Frisco RoughRiders: The Frisco RoughRiders, the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, chose to deploy ShoreTel's UC system throughout Dr. Pepper Park in North Dallas. The team selected ShoreTel because it offers a low TCO and increases staff efficiency, while providing an excellent experience to partners and fans, with features such as advanced call handling, Workgroups, and one-touch Web dialing. The team is deploying 170 ShoreTel ShorePhones throughout the executive offices, locker rooms, luxury suites, concession stands and ballpark offices.

-- Infineon Raceway (NASCAR): Speedway Motor Sports, owners of this famous track in Sonoma, Calif., and organizers of the NASCAR races, chose ShoreTel because of the system's flexibility in expanding and contracting to meet spikes in user traffic. The ShoreTel deployment comprises about 50 ShoreTel ShorePhones but can quickly scale to several hundreds of phones in a variety of locations to support crowded race events. As a result of the ShoreTel UC implementation, Infineon has reduced its costs of having unused lines in place, and has turned the media center into a profit center with the ability to readily pass on expanded phone service charges to vendors.

QUOTE

Kevin Gavin, vice president, marketing, ShoreTel:

"In the fast-paced sporting world, all eyes are on the game, and communications have to be almost invisible while supporting effective, safe operations in an intense, public environment. Sporting facilities and organizations are turning to ShoreTel for this type of reliable, scalable and cost-effective unified communications system that also offers the flexibility to tailor applications around specific communication needs. ShoreTel is helping these customers stay ahead of the game with an agile, distributed communications platform that is so simple to manage, everyone's a winner."

For detailed information on ShoreTel products and features, click here.

RELATED LINKS & CONVERSATION

--ShoreTel Customer Success Stories (videos and case studies)

--ShoreTel Features

--ShoreTel Blog

--ShoreTel Awards

About ShoreTel, Inc.

ShoreTel, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOR) is a leading provider of Pure IP Unified Communications solutions. ShoreTel enables companies of any size to seamlessly integrate all communications -- voice, video, messaging and data -- with their business processes. Independent of device or location, ShoreTel's distributed software architecture eliminates the traditional costs, complexity and reliability issues typically associated with other solutions. ShoreTel continues to deliver the highest levels of customer satisfaction, ease of use and manageability while driving down the overall total cost of ownership. ShoreTel is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has regional offices in the United Kingdom, Sydney, Australia and Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.shoretel.com or call 1-877-80SHORE.